AMERICAN ACCOUNTING ASSOCIATION
www.aaahq.org
CONTACT: Ben Haimowitz (212-233-6170)

INVITATION TO COVER
Congressmen Barney Frank and John Campbell to assess prospects for financial regulatory reform

How soon? Who will regulate systemic risk? What to do about CEO pay and consumer protection?

EVENT
"Financial Regulatory Reform: Prospects and Pitfalls"
Congressman Barney Frank, Mass. Democrat, Chairman House Financial Services Committee
Congressman John Campbell, Calif. Republican, member House Financial Services and Budget committees
Moderator: Rick Stamm, US Tax Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

DATE and TIME
Monday, August 3, 2:00-3:30 p.m.

With financial regulatory reform a key element in the Obama administration's agenda, this discussion will probe the prospects for legislation with two Congressmen who promise to play major roles in shaping it.

Among the issues likely to be raised:

TIMING: Considering that the federal government's financial markets commission is slated to issue its detailed report on the financial crisis in December 2010, does Congress need to complete financial regulatory reform this year?

CONSUMER PROTECTION: Apparently strong differences have emerged in the Financial Services Committee over the need for a new agency for consumer financial protection. Is a new bureaucracy necessary, or can satisfactory protection be achieved by strengthening currently existing agencies and improving Congressional oversight of them?

SYSTEMIC RISK: With the creation of a systemic risk regulator central to the Obama reform efforts, should the Federal Reserve assume that role, as the administration has proposed, or would this constitute a dangerous concentration of power?

CEO PAY: While not advocating a cap on executive pay, Chairman Frank has called for legislation requiring the SEC to mandate shareholder votes on such pay for all firms under SEC regulation. Will a "Shareholder Bill of Rights" ultimately be part of financial reform, and, if so, what will it say?

GLOBAL COORDINATION. Given the increasingly global economy, any regulatory reform efforts in the US will be felt around the world. Can you assure us that financial reform will be taken with an eye toward global coordination?

The discussion will be a highlight of the Annual Meeting of the 93-year-old American Accounting Association, which, with over 8,000 members, is a worldwide organization devoted to excellence in accounting education, research, and practice. Some 3,000 accounting scholars and practitioners, a record number, are expected to attend the meeting August 1-5 in New York City.

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